IMPALA Platinum (Implats) has appointed Thandi Orleyn, a lawyer and industry entrepreneur, as its chairman-designate following the resignation of current chairman, Mandla Gantsho, which was announced by Implats in June.
Orleyn will assume the chairmanship on October 14 on conclusion of Implats’ annual general meeting, the company said. Orleyn previously served 11 years on the Implats board before stepping down in 2015.
Orleyn is a joint founder of investment company, Peotona, which has a stake in LaFarge Mining and De Beers Consolidated Mines. In addition to her executive duties at Peotona, Orleyn serves on the boards of BP Southern Africa, Reunert, and Toyota SA.
“Thandi brings with her a wealth of experience and her leadership and insight will be a great asset to the Implats team,” said Gantsho in a statement.
It’s a good time to be in platinum group metals.
Implat will report a full-year earnings increase ended-June of at least 20%, according to a trading statement last month. “A significant increase in the dollar basket price for platinum group metals (PGMs), together with rand depreciation, has resulted in a higher rand PGM basket price received by the group during the period,” it said.
“That earnings growth should be driven by the continued strength that we’ve seen in the PGM basket, particularly palladium and rhodium, and the weaker rand this year. Those are the significant factors driving Implats’ earnings and earnings for the sector,” said Seleho Tsatsi, an investment analyst at Anchor Capital, in an interview with Business Report.
